"Is Mumbai Civic Body Campaigning For BJP?" Asks Sharad Pawar's Party

Nationalist Congress Party on Wednesday claimed that as per reports Mumbai civic wards held by the Bharatiya Janata Party will get most of the funds allotted in the recent budget of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

This could possibly be "three times more than other wards" which had corporators from other political parties, NCP national spokesperson Clyde Crasto said in a statement.

"This move by the BMC commissioner raises a question, is the BMC campaigning for BJP?" he asked.

The obvious answer seems 'yes' because the allocation of maximum funds to these specific BJP-dominated wards will help the party to impress upon the voters and gain their votes in the forthcoming municipal elections, Mr Crasto claimed.

On February 4, the BMC presented Rs 52,619.07 crore budget for the year 2023-24 with the emphasis on health, education and infrastructure and the budgetary estimates crossing the Rs 50,000 crore mark for the first time.

In good news for residents of Mumbai, where civic polls are due, no fresh tax was levied.

Significantly, the BMC would tap into some of its fixed deposits (FDs) worth more than Rs 88,000 crore for development projects, the move comes weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken here about "funds being locked in banks".

"This is the first time in the history of the country's richest civic body that the budgetary estimates for FY 2023-24 have crossed the Rs 50,000 crore-mark and the capital expenditure is more than 50 per cent," BMC commissioner and administrator Iqbal Singh Chahal had said.

Mr Crasto claimed the BJP, which is in power in the state, is making sure the BMC is under its thumb and is smartly using its leaders to speak against the corporation's workings, to show the people that they are keeping a watch but the truth is it is just a "ploy to divert the attention from favouritism behind the scenes."

The NCP leader accused the BJP of ''hitting two birds with one stone'', trying to gain votes, and on the other side cutting to size former corporators of the Eknath Shinde (Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena) group because all the wards which had corporators from this group are being given much lesser funds than the BJP wards, despite being in alliance in the state government.

"A move that Eknath Shinde faction must look at seriously," he said.

Mr Crasto demanded that BMC commissioner Mr Chahal answer why the maximum amount of people's money was being allocated to the BJP dominated wards in the city.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)